ISRAEL WINS FIRST OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL

Windsurfer Fridman wins Israel's first ever Olympic gold
Gal Fridman was awarded a gold medal for the windsurfing event at a ceremony in Athens on Wednesday evening, Israel's first ever gold at the Olympics. During the ceremony, the Israeli national anthem "Hatikva" was played for the first time ever in the Olympic Games, while Fridman and the dozens of Isarelis in the audience sang along. Alex Giladi, the Israeli representative on the International Olympic Committee, bestowed the medal to Fridman, who looked very excited. Fridman - the first Israeli to win two Olympic medals after winning the bronze in 1996 - finished the last of the 11 races in second place, but took the gold by scoring 42 points. The silver went to Nikos Kaklamanakis of Greece, who finished with 52 points and Nick Dempsey of Britain won bronze. After the ceremony, Fridman said: "I didn't believe that so many people would come to the ceremony. Everyone sang the 'Hatikva' with such intensity that people were in shock, they didn't understand where it came from." Fridman added that he also hoped to win the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Israeli pole vaulter Alex Averbukh advanced Wednesday to the finals in Athens, which will take place on Friday. Averbukh, one of Israel's hopes for an Olympic medal, cleared the bar on all his first attempts at three different heights. He started by clearing 5.50 meters, continued with 5.65 meters and finished with the minimum height for the finals, 5.70 meters. Averbukh cleared the bar this year on 5.85 meters, won two Golden League competitions and has been the European Champion since 2002. Also Wednesday, Roei Yellin qualified for the Men's K1 1,000 meter final, after finishing third in the semifinals. The finals will take place on Friday morning.